No mercy
by xDreamers
Summary: Shaydene and Aliya are total opposites and were raised by Orochimaru, he's extremely possessive over them. Shaydene can't grasp the concept of love and friendship while Aliya's weakness lies within her heart. Yet Ghost is just a mystery. Darkfic
1. Chapter 1

**Lol new story, new characters and new plot.  
I like writing stories  
It's cool  
Lol  
****Hi  
Enjoy 3  
**

* * *

"Shaydene, I'm scared.." Shivered Aliya, holding her kunai tightly to her chest.

"I told you to shut up. Or we'll be spotted." Shaydene whispered in a angry voice, her back was pressed against a tree, with a kunai ready in her hand.

It was almost impossible to see in this thick forest. Branches, vines and roots were everywhere. Especially Aliya, the only thing she could see was the blonde hair in her face. She lost the hairpin in their last encounter which keeps her fringe back in place and out of the way.

Shaydene glanced at Aliya, she was a total mess. Shivering like a puppy and her eyes already filled with tears. This girl.. She fears her own shadow. What was the lord thinking sending this girl along with her. She sighed. It couldn't be helped, they knew each other better than anyone and their team work was almost perfect.

Her other team member was quiet, she doesn't think she's ever heard him say a word and his face was always covered under that stupid hood and mask. He never introduced himself either, she'd have to pick a name for him because no one ever said his name. He was never noticed, he only suddenly 'appears' or is not there at all. That's why she called him ghost. He definitely acts like one. Silent follower and kind of creepy.

"Ghost, do you still have the scroll?" Shaydene asked in a whisper, glancing over to him crouched behind Aliya.

Ghost nodded and pulled it out of his pouch to show her.

"Good, we didn't lose it. We need to start getting serious, there's only 3 days left and we've only been playing around." Shaydene said.

She pulled out 3 already chakra infused needles from her fingerless glove and threw them far in separate directions. The moment they hit the tree the impact sends out a small chakra shockwave about 100 metres in diametre and reacts to other forms of chakra. Depending on how fast one throws them the length varies.

She closed her eyes and used the seal of confrontation to concentrate on the chakra. (One hand seal with two fingers pointing up).

"I detect a squad of three and one other guy who's walking away from them. They still have all their chakra so I doubt they've been in a fight."

Shaydene opened her eyes and turned around to face her squad, "ok, Aliya you stay far behind us since you're a long range fighter, me and ghost will sneak up using our muffle jutsu and strike from behind. Got it?"

Aliya and ghost both nodded, they readied their weapons and followed behind her quietly. Aliya slowed down the further they got. She grabbed the bow off her back and a steel arrow out of her quiver, she could see the three people Shaydene was talking about, a fat guy eating chips, a bored looking guy with a pony tail and a pretty blonde girl with he hair tied back looking absolutely defeated.

Shaydene stopped while Ghost went around to the other side of them, out of Aliya's view. Now that she can't see him, she can't protect him either, she's going to have to trust he knows what he's doing or he'll be done for. She trusted Shaydene had a good plan.

The three oblivious shinobi were just standing around chatting, it looked like they were planning something, and totally off guard.

Suddenly a Kunai landed at their feet from the opposite side. They all jumped and pulled out their kunais.

"Who are you?! Stop hiding like a coward!" The brunette with the ponytail shouted.

Aliya saw shaydene pulling out six needles from her belt, three in each hand between her fingers. She was kneeling on one knee, supposedly waiting for Ghost to strike again.

For a moment there was silence.

"Shikamaru, who threw that?" The blonde girl asked, she was already sweating as the fat guy next to her. But almost all fat guys sweat, so that's no surprise.

"How am I supposed to know that, just stay on your guard." He replied, holding his kunai up to his face.

Another kunai came darting out of the bushes, aiming straight for the girls heart.

_'Ghost isn't wasting any time killing them is he.'_ Shaydene laughed to herself.

"Shikamaru jumped in front of the blonde and blocked the attack, "there you are!" He shouted as he threw his kunai straight were the other came from.

Now that they're distracted, Shayde kept herself low and threw three needles straight at their ankles. She heard them scream in pain before falling down desperately looking at what hit 'em.

"Damn it, there's more of them!" The guy with the pony tail exclaimed.

Not wasting any time Shaydene jumped to the next position without making a sound and throwing the last three needles into their other ankles. Then more in their shoulders.

"I can't move my feet!" The blonde girl shouted in fear after Shikamaru deflected the last needles she aimed at their shoulders.

"Cowards!" The fat guy yelled.

_'This is called being a ninja, you idiots'._ Shaydene thought.

Shikamaru pulled the kunai from the floor and aimed it straight at shaydene. Though his efforts were wasted, Ghost blocked the attack with his Kunai.

Now they know where they are.

"Chouji, now!" Shikamaru ordered.

The fat guy pulled the needles out of his ankles, squealing, he slowly stood up and shouted "human boulder jutsu!" His body turned into a ball and shot off straight at Shaydene.

_'He's fast! Aliya!'_ Shaydene panicked.

Aliya knew, she shot her arrow she was already aiming, at Chouji in an instant. Almost a second later she pulled another out and shot it at Shikamaru who was wide eyed in shock watching his friend get hit in the side with blood already pouring out of his body.

"Chou-!" he couldn't even finished his word before he too was his in the side by an arrow.

Chouji fell flet on his stomach, while Shikamaru fell on his back.

"Shikamaru! Chouji!"

The blood started to pour out of their bodies, their eyes still resembling the worst shock of their lives, because now, they are fearing for their life.

"Ino, run! Get out of here!"

_'Ah... So she's Ino. Definitely suits her, she's so pretty'_ Aliya thought so herself. She bit her lip, those wounds on the guys looked really horrible... They're already loosing heaps of blood, she wished she could help them.. But they're enemies, she can't help her enemies!  
She saw shaydene come out in the open, her hands filled with needles and her face looking determined.

"You're not going anywhere, Ino." She snapped.

"Ino-.. How do you know my name?! Who are you?!" Ino screamed, she couldn't run, the needles were still in her ankles and bleeding quite a lot.

"Because he said you're name just then." Shaydene said, pointing the Shikamaru who was lying down, gagging on his own blood.

"Shika..." Ino whispered, her eyes started to tear up, she couldn't run, she couldn't fight. She can't do anything, she'll never make it. Her friends were down as well.

Aliya sat back and sighed, she looked up at the trees. Watching people suffer like this, seeing all the blood come out of their bodies, there was nothing that made her more sick. It's just horrible. She closed her eyes, she doesn't want to watch how they'd die. Shaydene, she doesn't care at all. Sometimes it actually looked like she enjoyed the killing.. But that's not possible, no one does..

"Ino, now!" Shikamaru gagged, which sounded like his last breath.

"Wha-!"

Shaydene was paralyzed, she couldn't move, but how?

"Mind transfer Juts-"

Just before she could finish her words, her hands creating the seal were pinned to the ground by a kunai. It went straight through her hands.  
Ghost jumped out of the woods, showing himself.

Then the loudest scream Shaydene ever heard ringed her ears and catching Aliya off guard. She jumped and gawked at where it came from.

_'Oh no, that poor girl! The kunai is pinning her hands down on the ground, it went straight through her hands!'_ Aliya held a hand before her mouth, already feeling nauseous.

Shaydene unblocked her ears once the screaming turned into crying,

"What scroll do you have and where is it?" She asked.

Ghost went into the pouch of Shikamaru and pulled out the Earth scroll, then holding it up so Shaydene can see.

Shaydene cheered, "good job Ghost! How did you know it was in there?" Her question was answered by silence. "Oh right, I see, well thanks for explaining."

Aliya came down where shaydene and Ghost were after she put her bow on her back again.

"Sorry, sorry, I have to get my arrows back. I'm sorry!" She apologized before slowly pulling out the arrow from Shikamaru and Chouji's side. She noticed the blood puddle beneath them, there's no way they can survive this even if she helps them now.. They've lost so much blood. She glanced over to Ino who was gritting her teeth from the pain.

"Ok guys, let's go, now we have both scrolls. We have to be quick before anyone comes. That girl screams loud as.." Shaydene sighed and started walking off.

Ghost put the scroll in his pouch with the other under his almost black, green robe and followed beside her.

"Ok, I'll catch up with you guys, I just need to do something." Aliya said with a innocent smile.

Shaydene snickered, "fine, we'll be just up there, don't kill yourself. As in, don't let someone kill you." She and Ghost ran off before aliya had a chance to nod.

Aliya made sure they were gone before she kneelt down beside the blonde girl.

"You're name is Ino, right?" She asked gracefully.

"What do you want.." Ino said in a weak, raspy voice.

Aliya slowly pulled out the needles from her ankles, then healing them with weak medical ninjutsu.

"Stay still, or this would be even more painful."

"I don't want your help! Get away from me!" Ino shouted and kicked Aliya in the stomach right after she healed her foot.

Aliya fell on her back, but a weak kick like that can't keep her down.

"Stop, let me help you, I hate seeing people like this." She whimpered, trying to calm Ino down. She got closer and pulled out the other needle while healing her.

Ino studied her outfit, she had a quiver on her back filled with arrows and a bow around it. She must've been the one who shot her comrades then.

Ariya slowly pulled out the kunai knife from her hand but held her tightly around the wrist, then began healing her palms.

"It's the best I can do, your comrades won't make it, I don't think, but at least you're alright. I'm sorry for your friends, but they attacked my friend so I had no choice." She stated.

Ino whimpered and sat up, she felt her palms, even though they were healed she still felt a shot of pain when she put pressure on them. Then she rotated her ankles to see if they're good enough to stand on.

"Thank you... But I won't forgive you." She crawled over to Shikamaru and petted his face. His cheeks were covered in blood and he was still choking and suffering.

Aliya didn't need to be forgiven, she left without saying a word and went after Shaydene who was waiting for her.

"Ino..." Shikamaru coughed, his eyes were closed from the pain.

"Shut up Shikamaru, don't talk, we have to get you out of here." Ino spat, "and Chouji too." But it didn't look like Chouji was breathing.

"No... In a few minutes I'll be dead, you have to get out of here, and quick.. The guys here are dangerous, so avoid anyone you can. Just get away from here." Shikamaru coughed a few more times, it felt like it was raining, but it was only ino's tears landing on his cheeks and mixing with the blood.  
It was getting harder and harder to breath, the pain wouldn't go away and the blood wouldn't stop pouring into his throat, he felt his energy slowly draining.  
He couldn't tell if his eyes were closed or if he just lost vision, then suddenly everything went quiet and the pain stopped.

"Ino... Go..." He forced out with his last breath, his body stopped shivering and fell silent.


	2. Chapter 2

Shaydene, Aliya and Ghost skipped through the trees as fast as they could.  
Suddenly Shaydene came to a halt, holding up one hand signaling the other two to stop as well. They jumped on the same branch next to her scanning the area she was looking at with confused looks.

"S-Shaydene.. T-there's nothing t-there..." Aliya stuttered in a barely audible voice. Though for Shaydene it was perfectly audible, she was used to the soft voice of Aliya. She could make out what she was saying but the tone and length of the words, the blondes speech pattern became easy to pick up. Before they knew each other she'd have to ask 'what?' a million times before she understood a word Aliya was trying to say. She found it quite strange, Aliya would always stutter around her, like she was almost scared to speak and her eyes always watched and waited for her reaction fearfully as if she'd hit her when she's not looking. Maybe it was because of Shaydene's moods at certain times that made her so frightening. Aliya definitely had no backbone or courage.

Just a little blonde girl trying to stay alive.  
Well.. That's what it looked like.

"Be quiet." Shaydene snapped. Those harsh tones again, ones that Aliya would never get used to no matter how much she told herself it was just the way Shaydene spoke. For her, getting used to words is just like getting used to pain. "Follow." Shaydene ordered. Again something Aliya wouldn't understand, not something she feared or pained, but something she envied. Shaydene has a way of words, she didn't need many to get her point across. And she didn't need many to make everyone feel on their toes around her, almost as... Her words were like a controlling genjutsu. Even if you know you shouldn't obey her, you _want _to.

Shaydene jumped a few more branches with her team mates at her heels, they stopped a few trees before a heated battle. She snickered, giving a loathing glare at two people going at each other. Or should she say one person going at the other.

"Oh my god... This is horrible.." Aliya whispered to herself, instinctively holding her arms close to her chest.

They watched as a little pink haired girl was getting bashed in the forehead while she bit the ninjas arm. Blood started pouring down her face as it was already bruising badly. Not to mention her body was filled with kunai knives as if she was a knife block.

"Ugh this irritates me. Stupid girl... And boy." Shaydene snickered again.

Aliya looked at her puzzled, "w-what do you mean?"

Shaydene shot the innocent blonde a glare, "well look at them! Why doesn't she pull out a kunai and stab his guts? Or why does he take out a kunai that's already _stabbed_ into her body and stab it again! Or something like, gouge her eyes out? Her face irritates me, punching it like that makes her forehead even bigger than it already is."

Shaydene took a seconde glance at the boy, then the other two behind him, "ah... They're from the sound village, like us. They must be here with Orochimaru. He never told us about them.."

Aliyas eyes widened, they were comrades! They have to help them!

Aliya looked down at the ground uncertain and back up at Ghost. He didn't show her much emotion, despite it being hard to see with that hoodie over his head. It seems he didn't care, typical.

Aliya bit her lip in fustration. Was she the only one around here with feelings? Shaydene was just making stuff up so they can kill each other easier, Ghost didn't even care and there she is thinking about how horrible it look and trying to come up with a plan to save both their lives! Why did no one share these feelings with her?

Why...

Why is she so weird? Why is she so different? Why isn't she like the rest of them? Why does she have to be such a.. FREAK?

Her eyes starting prickling as her lips shivered.

She couldn't believe she's about to cry, she can't, what if Shaydene sees her. There's no telling how much she'd get mocked. Downing that already almost non-existent self-esteem.

Luckily her sadistic comrad didn't pay her any further attention, if you could call that lucky.

Shaydene delicately pulled out a single needle from her belt which was hidden by a long white cloth wrapped around her like a second belt with excess material draping down past her knees.

Before she was able to move, Ghost stopped her arm by holding on to her wrist. Tightly.

Shaydene shot him a glare but he wasn't looking at her, he kept his eyes on the fight, noticing the pink girl already let go stumbling backwards and falling on her knees again.

He shook his head, letting Shaydene decide if she knew what he meant.

She sighed, "you're right as always Ghost.. I shouldn't let myself get so irritated.."

_'Ghost.. You definitely have a better way with Shaydene than I do...' _Aliya sighed dissapointingly. She briefly wondered if Shaydene was actually going to help the guy who was being bitten, but really, she realised that probably wasn't her motive.

The mysterious boy took his gaze to Shaydene, she glanced back at him. He gazed into her grey eyes avidly, they reminded him of steel, cold and blank. The wind blew her side swept fringe away from her face, while her high braid swiftly moved with the wind. It wasn't common one would see both her eyes, though her hair was in a familiar fashion as Ino the blond girl, the only difference was she had dark hair and it was braided down to her lowerback also she had loose strands of hair falling down the opposite side of her face.

Shaydene raised an eyebrow at Ghost, who seemed to be staring at her creepily, but the shadow of his hoodie made in hard to see his eyes and face for that matter.

He took the needle out of her hand and placed it back in her belt carefully.

Shaydene was a bit startled by his gesture, but didn't think much of it.

Soon two other shinobi intervened the fight, saving the little pink girl from her misery.

"Let's not waste anymore time, move." Shaydene commanded and pushed off Ghost hand that was still holding onto her wrist.

The other two nodded and jumped after her, but before Aliya did she took a quick glance behind the pink haired girl. Under some tree roots lay two figures what it seemed like sleeping or rather unconcious. One of them even had ominous chakra escaping his body. How frightening...

They steadily made their way to the tower, doing their best in avoiding any unnecessary fight. Not to mention the really scary beasts around this forest.

"I see you have obtained both scrolls. Well done." A black figure said once came from behind a tree far in front of the mans group. They were startled and stopped abruptly the moment they heard the mans voice.

He walked further up the branch, allowing some sunlight to shine on his face and reflect off his glasses, no that they wanted to see this guys stupid grin anyway. They've seen it one to many times already.

"Kabuto, what is it now." Shaydene spoke up. She didn't remember they had any other business with Kabuto other than they are both to attend the chuunin exams. Ah, would could they do, Kabuto seemed to have a mind of his own regardless of their master.

He jumped between the three ninja, facing the opposite side and straightened his glasses. Aliya always hated that stupid grin he bore, it never left his face. He wore it like he was too smart for anyone. There was no doubt though that he had a reason to think that.

"Well.. I have to make sure you pass... Don't I..? But it seems my help is not needed."

Shaydene fixed her gaze on Kabuto, on his grin, he's always hiding something, always. Or it might be because he just wants everyone to think that. Her eyes narrowed with a frown.

"... Indeed..." She said, keeping her words short. Everyone was to watch their tongue around Kabuto, or he'll read them like a book. One's words, their sentences, their speechpattern and their tone can tell a lot of information about a person, and it's exactly what Kabuto is always after.

"Well then.. I'll head off to my next target... I'll see you soon." Kabuto snickered, "you better hurry up, it's getting dark." And vanished without a trace.

Aliya pulled her hands close to her chest with a worried look in her eyes, "t-that guy's pretty scary, isn't he..."

Shaydene closed her eyes, reminding herself of all those moment of fear, "it's the only reliable way.. Fear is what controls us, all of us. It's why we're loyal and don't stray from our masters side."

_'What's this all of a sudden...?'  
_Aliya's dark eyes shimmered, she wondered... Then what is trust? Does it even exist without fear? Is it all that heartless? Why?

Shaydene directed her eyes up in the sky, darkness was already consuming the little light rays shining through the thick forerst's leaves. "Yes.. Trust is an illusion. Fear is what bounds friendship together, the fear of being alone and isolated keeps the bond between two selfish beings. Only the delusional believe feelings of friendship and love are real. It's all fake, everything, they don't mean anything, they're all selfish." She bit her lip, feeling anger boiling inside of her.

Ghost didn't say anything like usual, he only liked listening to other people conversing not doing the actual thing.

_'Yes... She's right.. Emotions are useless... Why am I so stupid? Even if it's spelled out to me, I don't understand anything she says.'_ Aliya's eyes teared once again. Hating herself.

Shaydene glanced over to her with a blank face, watching tears falling down her cheek and being wiped away hastily. _'Well... She always did have a habbit for breaking every rule in the book.'_

"Come. We're almost there." Shaydene spoke soothingly.

"Y-yes..." Aliya sobbed.

Ghost nodded, he stood close by Shaydene. As she jumped for the next branch her braid flew up in the air, allowing him a brief touch of her soft dark hair.

* * *

**(A/N): now what kind of quiet is Ghost anyway? Evil/good? Who knows o.o**


	3. Chapter 3

Reaching the tower while so late in the game proved to be an inconvenience, ninja getting desperate for the scrolls, anything to win this game. '_This horrible sick game.' _Aliya growled to herself. _'They were really determined on killing us for these scrolls just like we did earlier. What kind of sick person makes us play this game.'_

But as a shinobi she musn't show her grief, she will abide by these rules if she must.

The tower of victory was well in sight, in the last 100 meters Shaydene was able to locate every enemy surrounding it, allowing them to travel through their defences safely. The sun was long gone, the only light sources they had were the moon and stars, although they made this forest even gloomier than it already was, making this tower seem like a haunted mansion, the one you'd avoid when trick-or-treating.

They knocked on the door, not sure what to expect, when no one answered they entered themselves. It was just a long dark hall, at the end was a faint ray of light. Shaydene glared intently at the stretched walls, they were completely blank.. Straight, flat and seemingly endless if it wasn't for the assuring light that guaranteed they wouldn't be walking for their lifetime.

Shaydene slowly took a step forward, nothing happened, she took another one. Still nothing. _'But anything could happen.. This could be a test.'_  
Before she could take another step and hand reached out and stopped her from moving.

Ghost held her there while he walked past her and calmly carrying on walking in front of her.

Shaydene and Aliya gazed at each other, watching Ghost just calmly stroll down the hall as if it was nothing.  
Shaydene furrowed her brows and frowned, "if I needed a babysitter I would've called for one! Now STOP insulting me!" She stormed up, pushing him hard into the wall and passed him like he was some garbage bag left in the way, though who would take the time to turn around to glare cold icy daggers at a lifeless form before regaining their posture and continuing on their way.

"Get up and move. Aliya stop standing there, and _walk_." Shaydene ordered the both of them, not even turning around to show her attention, _'as if she'd care..'_ Aliya couldn't help but snicker. She rushed to Ghost who was fallen on the ground, sitting against the wall holding his head in pain. She tried to ease the pain on the back of his head with her medical ninjutsu, after all it wasn't some playful shove Shaydene gave him.

"Are you alright, Ghost?" Aliya whispered so Shaydene wouldn't hear while helping him stand. Ghost nodded directly. He quickly and heartlessly brushed off her embrace around him and continued to walk after Shaydene forsaking her behind in the dark, leaving her feeling a little betrayed..  
_'It probably wasn't as bad as it looked, I was a little too concerned.' _She smiled and caught up with them.

* * *

They entered quite a average sized plain room on the second floor. There were 3 others sitting there, waiting for something Shaydene presumed since their group was a well.  
Aliya took a little more time looking at them as they walked passed, she noticed the red-haired boy sitting in the middle, he had dark rings around his eyes. He looked a bit strange. He was interestingly handsome, questionable but surely.. He was there just glaring at her, looking as angry as ever, the look in his eyes reminded her of killing. They all shared the same look before they kill. The glare of anger, spite, resentment and strangely.. There was always a hint of grief. It was scary, truly, imagine if these eyes were for _her_. It even saddened her that she could never bear those eyes. They gave the expression of strength, control and fear. He was stronger than her, he can manipulate her and she should _fear_ him. Eyes like that... How does one achieve these eyes... To her.. They were beautiful. They were everything she wished she had, and then the mixed feeling of _hating_ them.

But truth be told, this cold stare wasn't doing his features any justice. Shaydene and Ghost didn't even seem to realise they were there, either that or they didn't care enough to even have a peek at them. It was probably the latter.

She gave him a light hearted smile as they were getting closer, "you'd look better if you didn't glare like that.. Really."

He lowered his gaze even more, "...What.."

As they started walking past she still kept her gaze on him, "smiling is a nice featu-"  
Shaydene tucked on her arm forcefully, "shut up, Aliya." She whispered.

They continued to walk to the other side of the room.

"What, I didn't do anything." Aliya said, furrowing her brows at Shaydene's sudden strain.

Her mean comrade's orbs pierced right through to her soul, these eyes were definitely the same, in one way. But suddenly the harshness left, a calming sigh came from Shaydene's lips, "Aliya.. You are too blind.. This guy, you don't want to talk to someone like him. Don't be fooled by his appearance like that." She coaxed, turning her head to take a second glance at the red-head. How can Aliya be so stupid as to talk to this... This monstrous glaring looking human.

Ghost went ahead and headed up the second set of stairs, there was a room for each team in case they made it back early, not wanting to stay with these other people. Shaydene and Aliya reluctantly followed. 'The mean comrade' only just allowing Aliya to have a third glance before tugging her again.

* * *

It was way late at night, there were two more days, they still had some time to recover. Shaydene could feel her eyelids drop as she struggled to stay conscious until she finally lost it. Shaydene and Ghost were the only ones sitting up against the wall, Aliya was already sleeping, curled up on the ground. Ghost saw Shaydene's head drop as she fell asleep, thinking it must be very uncomfortable once she wakes up, he takes off his long robes, only wearing his T-shirt and pants, he lays her down on the ground gently, positioning her head on his lap. He covers her body with his clothing like a blanket, giving her extra warmth since it was quite chilly in this empty space. He could already feel the cold seeping into his skin, it wasn't too bad but he could clearly feel the difference. _'...I'll get used to it...'_ He thought silently before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

It was day 5, the last day of the test. Still early in the morning, just when the birds begin chirping and the sun rising just about those ridiculously tall trees. There was still condense on the windows, slowly evaporating. It was chillier than ever, the only one who was warm was Shaydene hiding under Ghost's coat and hugging onto his leg. Aliya had goosebumps down her arms while Ghost literally felt like his skin was a layer of ice stealing his warmth.

"YEAHH! WE MADE IT!"

Shaydene shot awake from the sudden commotion, she noticed immediately the robes around her again. Straining her neck looking back just knowing Ghost was her pillow again as well, she saw him sitting in the same position as he did last time. She noticed he was clearly cold, silently shivering in his sleep. Although it was kind of him, she found it a little creepy how she would wake up on his lap with his cloak around her, for the second time since this was their second night here. Also it was a little unfair.. Aliya and Ghost would both be freezing..

Shaydene pulled him forward a bit to wrap the cloak back around him until a hand took it from her. Startled that he was actually awake she sat back down and watched him put on his robes, hiding his face again under that hood. It wasn't like this was the first time she's seen his face but it never failed to surprise her. He had short chocolate brown hair spiked to the side and falling over his forehead. He didn't wear his headband around his forehead, he wore it around his waist where it can be seen.

She remembered back when they just met each other it was a bright afternoon, she was 9, her mission was to retrieve a lost boy from the forest, he was seen wearing dirty rags and running around meaningless. It was the first time they saw each other and the first expression she saw on his face was fear mixed with shock but he couldn't take his eyes of her, she remembers vividly that he was just staring at her. She wasn't sure how to respond, or she couldn't. Entering the evening the sun was lowering, the rays beaming through the leaves of the forest they managed to perfectly cover Ghost side.

The rays weren't as bright as they were in day time, it felt like all she remembered from that time was golden light shining off this little boy. His eyes were brightened to a golden brown as his hair had the illusion of golden highlights as it shifted through the winds, lastly his dirty rags of cloth seems like it was woven with a golden thread on one side, while the other side was almost black giving it a perfect contrast.

He and everything around him seemed almost godly.

Shaydene smirked, how could a little runt like that even be considered 'godly'. She told herself it was just because she hasn't seen daylight for months being trapped in the stupid dark dungeon of a hideout.

Then she looked at Aliya.. She wasn't even sure when she met her, she asked Kabuto once who this girl was. He looked at her confused before saying she's been around for a couple of weeks already. Shaydene wasn't really sure what to believe then, she never noticed the little blonde girl around. They met about 3 years before Ghost. Maybe her 6 year old eyes weren't as keen then, they were more focused on playing rather than anything. Although when she thinks back... She can't really be calling _that_ playing.

"YES, YES, YES! WE'RE TOTALLY AWESOME!" The voiced boomed again.

"WILL YOU SHUT IT, NARUTO?!" Another voice screamed, a girl voice this time. She didn't sound to nice, especially after she heard a loud yelp coming from the first guy again.

Their voices were so piercing they even reached the 3rd floor loud and clear. Shaydene cringed, it was probably that annoying blonde kid again who keeps screaming all the time like in the previous tests.

"What do you think is happening down there?"

Shaydene jumped, not expecting Aliya awake and up already, quickly taking her out of her thoughts. "They... Probably passed the test." She answered.

"Do you think we should go down to that main hall we passed on the way here? It's been 5 days already.." Aliya asked stretching her arms and yawning then rubbing her cold skin. "Man.. It's really cold.. I could hardly sleep last night.." She added, giving Ghost a bit of a glare who was arguably agreeing with her before a jealous glare at Shaydene. Why did Shaydene get to wear his cloak..

The dark-haired girl sat up against the wall with a tired look in her eyes, "no... We'll be called down sooner or later. We'll rest a little more, so we're at the peak of our strength."

* * *

Once all the people who passed the second test gathered, they explain the reason for an in between third test. As there were too many people who passed they needed to cut the numbers down by half, thus everyone will be assigned to have a one on one, whoever loses is disqualified from the chuunin exams. Also the fact that it's on the spot, it's not entirely fair to the people who just came in this morning.

Most of the kids looked completely beat up and exhausted... They'll be wasted in no time..

The blonde kid a few rows down was smirking, he looked the most beat up out of the whole team. And that guy... The guy with the black hair.. He didn't look like much, but he definitely had the confidence and _that_ made him seem dangerous.

_"So we done training for today?" Asked Aliya puffing with a few scratches here and there._

_Shaydene nodded, "yeah.. the leaf village isn't much different from the sound, is it.."_

_"Not really, there's only lots of trees here, there aren't that many around home."_

_"True..." Shaydene said looking up at the sky, it was bright and hot. The tree she was under with her squad wasn't doing anything to cool them down. "Come, let's get a drink." Shaydene said standing up. She was about to walk off before she felt a tap on her shoulder, _

_She raised an eyebrow to Ghost, as in to say "what is it?" He pointed to his stomach, poking it a few times._

_"Ah yes of course, since you're a guy you're always hungry, aren't you? We'll have something to eat as well." Shaydene said, giving him one of those rare smiles. _

_Aliya smiled and agreed. They started walking out of the training grounds as another group came in, they were from the leaf village telling by their headgear._

_Shaydene and Ghost paid no attention to them, though Shaydene did notice the confident guy with the clingy girl staring at him and a blonde boy staring at the girl.  
She kept her eyes straight as she approached them closer, feeling their eyes on her and her team members behind her. Trying her best not to engage them she kept walking like no one was there._

_Aliya gave the cute boy at front a smile, she could tell the pink haired girl really liked him by the way she looked at him. He was really cute.. She could tell why she liked him, he had nice black hair, and dark eyes. Aliya saw him take a glimpse of Shaydene, as did the blonde guy. Although the girl focused more on Ghost.. Again Aliya felt invisible, until the blonde laid eyes on her. She saw him blush a little and giving her a stupid grin while scratching the back of his head. She thought it was pretty funny, the blonde guy and the dark haired guy were completely different. _

_"Hey there!" That blonde guy called out casually, greeting their group. As Aliya suspected Shaydene didn't even bat an eye while Ghost only turned to acknowledge them. She gave the guy a little wave, still being a little shy. She noticed the other group stopped walking once they passed them, she turned back to see them staring at her squad._

_"You, what's your name..?" The dark haired guy called out, she wasn't sure at who, but either one of them._

_"Who are you referring to?" She asked shyly, walking backwards as Shaydene and Ghost won't bother to stop._

_"Hey wait, you with the braid." The guy said again pointing. "I asked what your name was, answer."_

_Aliya bit her lip, this guy sounds a bit arrogant... She wasn't sure how Shaydene would react... She was always.. Unexpected.._

_Shaydene stopped dead in her tracks._

_'Uh oh... This isn't a good sign.. Shaydene don't do anything reckless, please..'_

_There was a moment silence._

_'This is bad...'_

_Then she continued walking, "what does it matter."_

_The guy in front gritted his teeth, he walked towards her so she wouldn't get too far away, "tell me or fight me."_

_"Sasuke, wh-.." The pink haired girl uttered, trailing off._

_Shaydene once again stopped walking, she turned around shooting glares at the persistent dark-haired boy, "you're annoying. Fine. My name's Shaydene." She snickered, then continued trailing off, she was thirsty and hungry and this guy's making a big deal out of her name._

_"Yeah, and my names Nar-!" Shaydene cut him off, _

_"Go away."_

_Aliya looked at them apologetically, Especially that dark-haired guy, he looked pretty pissed off. "Shaydene.. Can't you be nice.." She whispered turning back to her friend. Though, she didn't answer, "Sha-" Before she could continue, Ghost pressed a hand on her mouth, then bought one finger up to his, telling her to be quiet.  
_  
That boy, he looked in real pain, he was holding his shoulder while talking to the girl behind him. They appeared to be fighting and she was crying.

Not much later she saw Kabuto walk out, given the option to leave now or continue with the exams, what a scaredy cat. She never liked Kabuto.

After the whole explanation of rules the kids spread along the 2 outer platforms a few meters above the arena where the kids were now supposed to hold their matches. Giving it a clear view.

"Hey... You don't know what happened to Ino's group do you? Team 10?" The girl with pink hair asked the guy with the puppy on his head.

He shook his head, "no, I see they didn't make it either, that sucks. You guys were friends weren't you?" He asks,

The pink haired girl nodded sadly biting her lip.

But one other guy with light purple eyes and no pupils walked up to her, whispering, "Ino is the blonde girl right? I saw her in the forest.. After I left them I saw that group's chakra surrounding them, That girl, the one with the braid.." He pointed. Ghost heard what he said, since he was standing relatively close but as usual no one noticed him.

The girls eyes shot open, "are you sure?" She asked, looking back and forth.

"Yeah.. Then I went to help Lee, and that's where you were.." He said, still whispering. The girl nodded, feeling tears form in her eyes.

She slowly walked up to Shaydene shyly,

"Sakura, wha- No, don't." The blonde boy warned but his words failed to reach her. The dark haired boy also watched as she approached the creepier, quite mysterious looking girl with the braid.

"Um... Excuse me, I-I.." She started,

"What..?" Shaydene asked, leaning on the rail bars, looking down as the match between two people already started.

"Do you know what happened to Ino..?"


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry, I can't give my characters cool japanese names, like I can't even tell the difference between a girl and boy japanese name. Thus how am I supposed to know if it's a cool name? I might end up naming my character George or something. Anyhow, enjoy **

* * *

"Ino...?" Shaydene repeating, slightly tilted her head towards the pink-haired girl. She raised an eyebrow... She might remember someone with that name.. Who was it again...

Aliya stepped forward, "you mean that girl with long blonde hair?.." Aliya gasped, holding her hand to her mouth almost guiltily.

"Y-yeah, her! M-my friend said he saw you with her group..." The little girl raced, looking back and forth between the other two.

"Ah... I remember... Her.. Yes... Aliya.. You stayed behind, right? Tell the girl what happened." Shaydene smirked, glaring Aliya painfully in the eyes.

The blonde gulped, Shaydene was doing this on purpose.. _'She wants to make me tell her.'_ Aliya thought bitterly, biting her lip in resentment and looking back sourly at Shaydene. Which only made the sadistic girl smirk even more, she's starting to look like Kabuto.

"S-so.. You saw her last? So you know what happened?" The pinkie asked again, Aliya was taking a while to answer.

The blonde looked back at her apologetically, "she should be fine... I healed her up from a previous fight... Although.. Her teammates were in dire condition.. I couldn't help them.. They were already..."

Shaydene looked impressed, Aliya covered that story really well. _For her._ There wasn't really any need to... Stretch the truth a bit.. Who cares if they hate you? They weren't even worth the approval. But if it made Aliya feel more at ease, then whatever, it doesn't even matter. This would be for the best anyway. Always better to be liked than to be hated.

The girls eyes only _partly_ lit up, it meant Ino's teammates were.. _dead_? That's horrible... At least she's alive and well...

"But I'm sorry.. Don't take my word on Ino being alright.. Who knows what could've happened.. She could've been attacked by other ninja.." Aliya mentioned looking down at her feet, feeling more than grief running over her. She dreaded watching people hear about their loved ones go down.. Even worse when she was the one who caused it... She _was_ the one who gave the other two their final blow.. Shaydene and Ghost didn't do any of the killing.. It was all her fault.

The guy with the puppy and the blonde guy stood wide mouthed, they couldn't believe it. Neither could the rest of the rookies. Their friends for all their school days were... Gone? _Dead_? I-it's not possible..

"Y-you mean to say.. Chouji and Shika.." The blonde guy managed to mouth. He knew what the answer would be, there wasn't actually any point in asking. Just the fact of her saying it could bring them closure.. So there could be absolutely no doubt.

"Yes. That's right, _they're dead_. Sad isn't it? I bet you loved them, they were your friends. Ha! Fantastic. Let me tell you-" Shaydene leaned in close, looking directly into the pink-haired girl's eyes and continued in a whisper, "-they didn't die a painless death."  
Shaydene couldn't keep her smirk away, "hn, you know what.. They were pathetic. They almost deserved it!" She gave a short chuckle.

"You... YOU BASTARD!" The blonde boy blurted before giving Shaydene a hard punch to the face, letting her topple to the ground. "So you're the sorry little culprit who killed my friends, AND THEN MOCKS THEM? HOW DARE YOU!"

Shaydene looked up at the boy with wide eyes. He looked scary... Everyone around him was shocked to see the little runt like this.

"I'll kill you!" He screamed, ready to punch her brains out.

That last sentence snapped Shaydene out of her fear, for a moment she felt pathetic, since when did an angry little boy scare her? Whatever.  
She gave the guy another mocking smirk, snickering to herself. Finding it hilarious how worked up this guy is getting, it's what she wanted after all.

It made the blonde boy even madder, how dare she laugh. He grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground, staring her dead in the eyes as if trying to get an answer out of them. But he was wasting his time. He gritted his teeth while growling like a dog, she was making him so angry, her indifference towards his comrades were almost inhuman.. The fact that she was laughing at it was proof enough. This girl was a whole different breed..

His fist clenched onto her clothes even tighter, lifting her slightly off the ground, ready to throw her down and stomping on her stupid face.

But before he could, he was suddenly forced release, someone held a tight grip on his wrist, then suddenly he was punched in his stomach causing blood to spew out of his mouth. His body folded from the impact, then spewing up some more blood on the floor. At the same time his face was in perfect position to be smashed in the face by a knee, which it did, causing him to shoot back up and bend backwards falling on the floor.

Shaydene was lightly dropped back on her feet, "thanks for picking me up off the ground. It's appreciated although not necessary." She said smugly seeing as he was now bloodied on the ground.

Ghost wasn't finished though. He plucked the boy of the ground, clutching onto his collar. He pulled his free hand as far back as he could and swung it straight in the blondes face, putting all his force into it causing the blonde to spiral into his friends. The boy with the brown the red marks on his cheeks and dog on his head caught the blonde in his arms.

Shaydene watched in amusement, it's what he deserved after all. Aliya wasn't sure whose side she should be on right now, Shaydene was being a right bitch! But that guy should never have punched her.. And looked at her like that.. Ghost payed him back but.. He went a little too far.

And he still wasn't finished.

After he took a step closer to the boy another guy smoothly moved in front of him holding a knife straight to his neck. "Back off." He said in a cold voice, glaring angrily.

Ghost remained still, staring the guy down, asking himself if he should take him as well.

"Now, now guys.. Let's keep the fighting for the arena. Now put your kunai down, Sasuke." Some old guy with silver hair broke in. Keeping himself cool and talking in a annoyingly happy tone.

The raven grumbled before turning away as did the other kids, moving at least a few metres away from Ghost's group. The blonde kid was shyly offered some medicine from this scrawny looking girl.

Shaydene smiled to herself, who cares what she said before, playing with people's emotions like this was just irresistible. To hell with being liked.

Aliya glared at Shaydene who was just grinning stupidly looking down at the match, there were two new people fighting now, a guy with puppets vs. some stretchy guy. She watched as Ghost approached her then stood next to her. He brushed her hand over her still red cheek, checking if it was still sore before he started caressing it to which Shaydene quickly slapped his hand away. Aliya felt a little sorry for the guy, Shaydene didn't even acknowledge him being there. It was just like she felt something on her cheek and slapped it away, not really caring who/what it was.

It was like the time she tried to do something nice for her. She spent at least an hour outside trying to find the perfect flower, one that was blooming perfectly, every pedal was identical, no part of it was damaged and it had to be beautiful. When she finally found one she ran back to the hideout, holding in front of Shaydene. At first she didn't look up, she was too busy playing with some dolls, cutting their hair and carving holes into their skin as if doing surgery.

But when she did get her attention, all she got was a bored look and something along the lines of 'why would I want them...' If that wasn't already painful enough Aliya insisted on her having them, to which Shaydene gave in and not a moment later threw them away behind her. Before Aliya could even say anything Shaydene told her to go away.

It really didn't come off as a surprise anymore, it's almost expected. Aliya bet Ghost has at least million stories like hers regarding Shaydene. Even the slightest act of kindness makes Shaydene crazy, she assumes it's just because someone wants something from her, she feels in debt if she accepts it. Of course why else would people do something kind? They just want something even if it's just friendship, which is also just another word for using someone.

Curses...

* * *

Shaydene vs. Kiba

They were up next, written clearly on the screen. Shaydene smirked and jumped down in the arena watching her opponent do the same with the small puppy on his head.

"And begin..." The instructor coughed before jumping out of the way. Someone should get him to the doctor because he's been coughing the whole time..

Shaydene started easy, throwing two needles which as expected.. Was dodged easily.

"You think you'll get me that easily? Ha!" The dog-person boomed, "take this!" He threw down two smoke bombs which exploded creating a huge puff of smoke. This is great for attacks, your enemy can't see so they'll never know where you are. But this also applies to the attacker... Which means.. This guy had another way of sensing someone other than sight...

"You think you can hide from me..." Shaydene said in a low voice. She threw a chakra infused needle into the ground, sending of vibrations which react to other chakra allowing her to track her enemy. She could sense every attack this Kiba made, even predict them but that skill still hasn't been perfected, it only had a 30% accuracy. Although.. She could feel the attacker spinning violently and heading her way _fast._ Too fast in fact, she couldn't escape it even knowing her was coming. All she could do is block herself.

Then it hit her, she was sent flying across the room, luckily her arms absorbed the impact, no matter, nothing saved her from the wall.

"You're pretty fast there.." Shaydene commented, standing up not being hurt that badly. She recognized two chakras when she was attacked, which means the dog had a part in it too. They were dangerous together, she had to separate them somehow.

Needles can be sneaky.. Their small, slender, hard to detect, especially if you have something else, something bigger as a distraction. And distraction is key. Your opponent should never see you coming, everything he sees should only be a diversion.

Shaydene threw a kunai, under it 3 needles. As she expected Kiba deflected the kunai but the needles caught in his arm as he blocked the bigger target. It wasn't very vital or even damaging at all, but it could slow him down. He was fast after all.

She couldn't waste any time, she threw a few more needles when he was down clutching his arm but he was able to block those. Then she aimed for the dog, he only barely managed to deflect those, given the angry look on his face she knew the dog was his weak spot.

But suddenly without warning they launched at her and without the smoke, she only barely managed to dodge the attack a couple of times, but in the end they got her pretty good. Once when push came to shove they resorted to taijutsu, Shaydene being both attacked by a dog and a guy, she could only defend herself with a kunai and a few needles.

It was at the point when she was starting to lose she turned it up a notch, she held 3 needles in each hand between her fingers now giving her the upper hand. She could strike but scratch her opponent up if they dodged it, if they didn't dodge it they'd be walking around like a hedgehog. But given he was fast a few scratches won't do it.

She jumped back a few metres, throwing a kunai at their feet, which they easily dodged.

"You think you can get me with that?!" Kiba laughed, ready to do the next jutsu with his dog. Then suddenly his dog was pinned down to the ground, a needle in each paw and his tail. Since needles are hardly ever vital, she aims for the places one needs most in battle, the limbs. If moving their limbs is excruciating it's game over.

"Akamaru!" Kiba screamed, rushing over to his dog, quickly pulling out the needles. His dog is definitely his downfall. "We dodged your attack! How did you-"

He didn't notice the kunai at his feet was the distraction, allowing Shaydene to clone herself which allowed her to attack from mid-air without Kiba knowing.

Before he could finished, they were already surrounded by needles, although.. Not one hit them. It wasn't until he heard a second pair of footsteps when he realised there was clone.

"Ah.. I see your trick. These needles were just an distraction! Weren't they! Ha, I've got you now!" He grinned, grabbing his kunai.

Shaydene fanned out her arms, dozens of tiny threads were suddenly gripping tightly Kiba's body while his dog was pressed up against him. Shaydene attached the threads to more needles and pinning them to the ground. She walked up to the dog-lover ever so slowly. She pulled the dagger from her back where she usually kept it. Easy to grab and quick. She held it up to Kiba's throat.

"This match is over." She voiced and slid the dagger back in its sheath, walking away. The whole arena just looked like a giant spider-web before she released the threads and needles, putting them back in her belt.

"The winner of this match... Is Shaydene." The instructor declared and started the next match.

"Shaydene! Are you alright? You're bleeding!" Aliya ran over to her seeing the beat up girl bleeding from her hairline and mouth.

"Don't worry, it's fine."

"No, let me heal you, it'll be quick." Aliya insisted and started healing the small wounds. It always made a difference, as long as Shaydene felt better then it's always worth it.

The pink-haired girl watched intently at Aliya healing her comrade. She thought of how helpful it would be for her comrades.. Since she always felt like dead weight around them. They always had to protect her, if only she could help protect the guys, maybe she will be needed. She'll ask her sensei if he could train her to do that.. Actually.. Right now she wished she could ask her to heal her own comrade. He was suffering greatly from this bruise he got on his neck.. It pained her to see him like this.. Especially since she loved him so much.

But there's no way she could ask, that raven pulled a knife on them. And they're nowhere near friendly. That's too bad..

A new match has begun.

Kankuro vs Damien.

"Your name's Damien?" Aliya gawked as she saw Ghost about to jump over the rails, before he did he gave her a quick no.

"It's probably an alias." Shaydene muttered. "Don't ask why, no one knows his name. And no one knows why no one knows. That guy just screams mysterious."

"Damien, come down or you'll be disqualified." The instructor threatened impatiently, looking around for this Damien guy who was supposed to be on the arena already.

"..." Ghost swung his arm in the air to get the attention.

"Oh, right, you're over there. You're a sneaky one aren't you? You look like a shadow!" He laughed for a bit before coughing. "Aaaaandd... Begin." He finished and jumped out the way again.

"His ability is even a mystery. Maybe we'll actually get to see him in action this time.." Shaydene hoped, getting a little excited for the first time. Maybe Ghost was secretly some super ninja. Nah... Don't be ridiculous, he's just a little..-

Breaking Shaydene from her contradicting thoughts was the sudden out of nowhere attack from puppet master. He just attacked air... And he was screaming as if he was actually attacking something. He ran around in circles, eyeing every direction. It almost looked like he was having a seizure? Ghost held out a few throwing daggers, attached to them some thread, a little thicker than Shaydenes thread but he didn't need to hide his.

"He's a long ranged fighter...?" Shaydene whispered to herself.

She saw Ghost throw one hand of his daggers at the puppet and the other at the master. Jumping up in the air Ghost pulled the strings, the sudden harsh jerk caused the paper bombs at the end of the dagger to explode, blowing up the puppet and sending the master flying across the arena.

For a moment everyone thought the match was over, until the puppet master's face started crumbling. Out of the bandaged figure came the _real_ puppet master.

"WOAH! He was controlling a puppet controlling a puppet! AMAZING!" A weirdo in a green spandex suit boasted. No matter, even Shaydene was impressed. That's quite amazing. Ghost is in for trouble.

Indeed he was caught off guard, he was attacked by all angles, even the puppet he blew up became all sort of new weapons. These puppets were stacked!

It took almost all he had to ward off the attacks, being extra careful since the ends of the blades were dipped in poison.

"How were you able to dodge all my attacks?!" Kankuro became frustrated. No one has been able to dodge his attacks. Until finally, he caught him!

"SECRET BLACK JUTSU, IRON MAIDEN!" Kankuro yelled. Ghost was inside one of the puppets, while the other one detached and all became spears. With one swipe of the master's fingers the blades lunged into the puppet. There was a faint cry before blood started pouring out of the holes.

"D-did you hear that? W-was that Ghost's voice?" Aliya questioned, in fact and sadly being more intrigued by his voice than that he was just stabbed by dozens of spears!

Slowly the blood started to evaporate. There was black and red smoke coming from the puppet.

"What..." Kankuro gasped and jumped back. This could be poison smoke.

Across from the arena Ghost faded into view unharmed.

"There's no doubt.. He's using genjutsu.. He's been using it since the beginning. The only time it was real was when he attacked the puppets." Another guy commented, one with silver hair who was looking through his usually covered eye.

_'So he's a long ranged genjutsu fighter? Fantastic...'_ Shaydene smirked. Puppet masters aren't skilled with genjutsu, the puppets do the fighting for them. It's usually only taijutsu and even sometimes a little ninjutsu but that really depended on the master. Fighting a genjutsu genius is fatal for them, they might as well end the match right there.

Kankuro cursed under his breath, he's been wasting all his chakra for nothing. But he wasn't finished he still had some tricks. It's his specialty after all.

Ghost slowly slid off his hood as he calmly approached Kankuro. Which made the puppet master a little insulted, he thinks he's able to drop his guard around him? Big mista-

"Y-your... Your eyes!" Was the last thing he was able to voice before he slumped to the ground.

Ghost was about to throw his daggers when the instructor stopped him. "The winner of this match is ...Damien." He coughed.

"There's no way.. That Damien guy took him out just like that? Even Naruto couldn't..." The pink-haired girl gasped.

"No way Sakura! I could've taken him out no problem!" The blonde boasted, giving her the thumbs up.

Kankuro was picked up by a cloud of sand, dragging him onto the platforms of his teammates.

"Ghost... You don't have a scratch on you.." Aliya gasped impressed.

But Shaydene was furious, he came out without a scratch? This guy... It made her feel pathetic! She was fighting a damn puppy, and came out with multiple wounds. And yet he... She couldn't accept it. There's no way she could.

She jerked Ghosts head to face her, clenching onto his chin she looked him in the eyes. "I don't see anything in your eyes." She spat and threw him back then stormed off as far away from them as possible.

"S-sorry Ghost, sh-she's just..." Aliya started but noticed Ghost wasn't listening anyway, he was heading the opposite direction away from her and Shaydene.  
Again Aliya was between their... Whatever it was.. It was always the same. She never understood what went on between the two, it was always some secret mind game she was always left out on. It wasn't safe to take either side, not that they ever wanted her on their side anyway.

She sighed, and watched the next match begin.

Which... Happened to be hers.

Aliya vs Sakura.


	5. Chapter 5

Aliya jumped down to face her opponent, Sakura. The girl with light pink hair. The name definitely suited her.  
She had a determined look on her face, Aliya could tell she had no intention of losing. But she didn't either and this girl didn't seem so scary. She looked quite harmless actually.

"Begin.." The instructor coughed and moved away like usual.

The two girls stared at each other, analysing and waiting for the other to do the first move. Aliya knew she had to stay far back since she was a long-ranged fighter and the girl was short-ranged, giving her an advantage.

Sakura began the fight by throwing a few kunai knives, getting things started. Aliya dodged them easily while Sakura charged, holding a kunai in her hand.  
Aliya kept her distance, throwing a few kunais herself.

The fight continued for a while and wasn't going anywhere, Sakura was desperately trying to get close but Aliya kept her distance.

The blonde looked up at her comrades. Shaydene wasn't watching, she was in a corner with an angry look on her face and Ghost wasn't anywhere to be seen. Not directly anyway. It made her heart drop a little, they should be supporting her. They made her feel she wasn't even worth watching. Well then.. She better make them regret not watching her, she can't waste her time playing tag with this girl.

Aliya took her bow off her back in mid jump and shot an arrow at the kunoichi. She noticed the girl had trouble dodging it, meaning the air was her advantage as well. Jumping back up the opposite directing she landed behind Sakura and shot a few more arrows who were blocked roughly.

While the girl was blocking the attacks Aliya thought of the next quickest thing to do and charged at her, the moment the arrows were deflecting Sakura got a spinning kick in the face forcing her head to smash on the ground.

Again Aliya jumped back to keep her distance. She noticed Sakura struggle to stand back up, she was wobbly and had blood pouring down her face but her kunai was steady in her hand. Puffing she took the time to glare at Aliya, telling her she's not done yet.  
Aliya bit her lip, the girl looked horrible, only minor but she had scratches over her face from the impact and was wobbly.

"Come on Sakura! You can do it!" Cheered the blonde boy.

Sakura didn't take her eyes off the target though her lips mouthed a faint "Sasuke..."

Aliya definitely didn't miss that, she wanted to stop this fight now but she had to win. Seeing as the pink haired girl wasn't willing to give up means she'll have to get messy, which also means hurting her more.

_'Be strong Aliya... She's not your concern... You don't have to care..'_ Aliya chanted to herself trying to block her emotions.

"Aliya! Stop shivering! Stop caring! That weakling isn't worth you!" Shaydene suddenly yelled.

Aliya looked up in awe, did her Shaydene just cheer her on? But she was right, she was right! Stop caring, she isn't worth it. She's doing this to herself.

Confidence starting building up in her in place of her emotions. All her worries were gone, they were justified, it's win or lose.

A smirk spreading across her face as she realised this is what a ninja _should_ feel. The target is near, and they're going down by her hand. Nothing else matters.

Sakura attacked her head on but Aliya dodged her attempts to strike and moved back. She shot two arrows, but they were dodged. She wasn't hidden well enough. There needs to be a way to distract the girl or somehow keep her attacks hidden.

She threw a few kunai at the feet to slow the kunoichi down, once the girl ran around them Aliya drew an arrow but tripped over her own two feet before shooting it, sending the arrow into a whole different location.

"Ha! You missed m-!" Before the pink haired girl could finish she was suddenly struck in her shoulder. The arrow piercing right through her flesh. Her knees gave in, allowing her body to collapse onto the ground. Her hands started shivering and blood was pouring out of her shoulder.

"The winner of this match..." Instructor announced and pointed to Aliya before continuing, "Aliya." He finished.

Quickly came a few medics to pick the broken girl up and drag her away to the hospital. The blonde guy was screaming her name with tears falling down his cheeks and begging the medics to take care of her, asking if she's going to be alright.

Aliya gave a slight smirk, cheering at her victory but praying for the girl to be ok. She jumped back up over the rails and healed some of the small wounds she obtained during the start of the fight.

"Simple yet deceiving move, changing the direction of that arrow with a small needle, no one would've noticed it since it's so small compared to the arrow. I guess you can get creative with those sorts of weapons." A creepy looking guy with sunglasses on approached her in a laid back manner. Half of his face was covered by the collar of his shirt, probably to hide the insects crawling on his cheeks..

"I-I guess.. It's not a move I'm too confident about doing though.." She muttered, trying not to make eye contact. She found it awkward and intimidating if she didn't know the other, she guessed it was because she was shy, well it was a reason she liked to tell herself because she was never quite sure what it was. As if someone were to read her like a book if she looked them directly in her eyes. Shaydene always told her she was too easy to read, telling her to stop wearing her heart on her sleeve because someone ought to take advantage of it. But Shaydene told her a lot of things mixed with lies.. It was hard to tell what was true or not, for all she knows her comrade probably just wants to mess with her.

Shaydene probably liked it that way too, definitely gives her the total advantage over her emotions. Keep Aliya guessing what's right and what's not. Anything told enough becomes the truth after all.  
But the eternal uncertainty of every word being said to her is going to drive her insane, yet again another advantage to Shaydene. Aliya was truly wrapped around her finger.

"Oh? And why's that?" The boy asks.

".. It's not a definite hit, it takes time to perfect the shot.. I got lucky this time." She answered and kept her eyes on the next two contestants.

"Right... " He said and wondered off just like that.

What was that about? Some kind of test? Whatever it was, that guy had a creepy aura.. It's probably best to not pay him any attention and to forget.

Aliya glanced over to Shaydene now watching the match with Ghost standing next to her again. It seems their argument was over or Shaydene hasn't realised Ghost was next to her yet. Either way it seemed safe to stand next to them and watch the match together.

It was that guy, Sasuke, if she remembered correctly. He sure was a handsome guy... No wonder why that Sakura girl liked him so much. He was so dreamy..  
Aliya watched him fight another creepy guy with sunglasses on, it didn't look like Sasuke was winning. In fact it looked like he was in a lot of pain, he kept putting his hand over the base of his neck and flinch.  
No matter how good-looking he was, he wasn't _that_ cool. What a shame..

Luckily he started bringing up his game, he disappeared and instantly reappeared right beneath the guy and kicked him into the air, then he shadowed below him and twisted himself with a variety of kicks, moving himself above the sunglasses guy before slamming him down with a final kick, cracking the floor beneath.

Now _that_ was cool. So he won the match after all. Not as bad as she thought. Still he didn't seem too impressive. His opponent only had one technique; sucking chakra.

There was a variety of other fights, a few more interesting than others. Like the guy with the scary stare and red hair vs. the crazy weird looking guy with a bowl-cut.

It was almost painful to watch, _if she could watch it_. Everything was so fast she couldn't keep track.

After that they were explained how the final test would be executed. They had one month to train and rest to gather up strength. Also since everybody was able to witness each other's jutsus, they have been given time to create new techniques, so their opponent won't be able to predict their moves.

Which means time to get training.

* * *

"All three of you have passed... Very good.." The snake praised the three genin, "I take it you three want more.. Training?" He inquired mockingly licking his lips with his abnormally long tongue.

Shaydene, Aliya and Ghost remained silent, their Lord was just playing with them. There's no reason to answer, and to talk without reason did not go unpunished.

"Hmmm? Very well... After all, I do need you three to be at your best on that day.." He sneered and lead them to the training grounds.

"Aliya... your affinity is lightning, Shaydene wind and Ghost, you're fire."

The three looked at each other, Shaydene with an competitive glare, Aliya worried and Ghost seemingly smiling. The three elements were all related to each other, fire overpowers wind and wind overpowers lightning. When used correctly they could all work in perfect sync. As in wind creates bigger fire, wind and lightning will slice and cut through everything as fire and lightning together will scorch anything.

When used incorrectly it will become a disaster. Especially for Aliya seeing she is at the bottom of the chain, also her fear of inferiority and insecurity.  
Shaydene who won't stand it being second to anything is now coming second to Ghost. She was trapped in the middle.  
And Ghost who doesn't want to stand out is now being set in the spotlight of having the element over powering Shaydene's.

This was truly an example of a perfect imperfection.

"Read these scrolls.. They have information about your chakra affinity. How to create and control it." The snake explained, throwing three different scrolls to each genin.

"Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said announcing his presence, pushing his glasses higher up his nose allowing the a strong flash of light to reflect off of them.

"Yes... Aliya, you'll go with Kabuto." The Lord ordered and began walking towards his head quarters.

The blonde began feeling worry spread throughout her. Not again... She'll have to train with Kabuto. He always made her do horrible things. It was her special training to rid of her emotions. She hated training with Kabuto, he can become terribly frightening. His calm collective manner is really his horrible side.. Although he is always like that, given the right circumstances it's just not right. Thus extremely scary.

Shakily Aliya began wobbling her way towards Kabuto, following him into another room a few corridors down while Shaydene and Ghost were left behind to train on their own.

Orochimaru never did train them personally, to strengthen their minds and creativity he let them figure things out for themselves. Create their own techniques and learning their own jutsu's. They do, however, learn _about_ the jutsus through scrolls and sometimes his teachings. Information you need to create jutsus.

To create a technique to fit their fighting style _is_ the ultimate jutsu, not a fancy jutsu that completely disregards ones style.

"Wind.. The ability to slash and cut through anything. Making the chakra as thin as possible grants the user a sharper blade than a freshly sharpened knife." Shaydene read out loud. Though her mind wasn't truly on learning the jutsu, it sounded impressive, but her mind was more focused on Aliya.

Every time Kabuto would take her away she won't talk for the following five days or so. She wondered what kind of training Aliya always went through, and why Aliya couldn't move her mouth afterwards. It was annoying, not to mention she never answers the question of what she was doing.

"Ghost, what does Aliya do with Kabuto?" Shaydene asked, she took her eyes off her scroll to glance at the boy studying the words closely. He gave her a vague shake of the head and shrugged, implying that he didn't know.

"What are you reading anyway..." Shaydene muttered and shuffled closer to Ghost, peeking at his scroll. She grumbled, "oh, so you're going to learn how to puke a little fireball? That's cute."

Ghost gave a her a quick glance before turning back to the training guide. He watched intently how it showed the seals and chakra infusion.

"A jutsu special to the Uchiha clan. The chakra nature of the Uchiha clan is fire, huh? It says it's easily mastered with the sharingan... That's the thing Lord Orochimaru kept going on about when he was with that organization... He was talking about some guy named... What was it.. Ita-... Something. I can't remember. Oh, Itasi or something. Right? Well whatever. It was the only thing he ever talked about, he said that guy had it but he was too powerful to steal from. Remember? That guy must have been beyond immortal to be able to be more powerful than that Lord..." Shaydene rambled, thinking back deeply to those days when they were young. "Oh wait.. That's right, you probably weren't here then.. It was two years before you came I think.. Unlike you I've been here since.. Forever.."

Ghost looked up at that comment, so Shaydene's always been in this place.. Sad.. He thought back to when he first met her. He was nine and lost in the woods. His family was killed, he was lucky to escape that night, later he was brought up by two humble people who lived out in the forest before their homes were burnt down as well. he had been wondering around the woods for days before he suddenly came across a girl who he had never seen before.  
And he couldn't keep his eyes off her, she was in the shadows of the trees. The darkness was surrounding her like a fitting silk dress. It didn't slander her, it _complimented_ her.  
The shadow may have been hiding her, but he has never seen someone shine so brightly. It was dark, but it was light.  
He could see beyond her, under her dark aura she shone light. Clearly he has no idea what he was seeing and his mind wasn't making any sense.  
He was always taught darkness was evil, scary, full of terrors and demons.  
_Keep away from the dark!_ They used to say. It made him fear every concept of dark.  
It's why he couldn't understand what he was witnessing right now.  
It fitted her so perfectly.. The shadows just flew over her, they dressed her and flowed around her like puffy smoke.

They were staring at each other for a while now, the sun was almost set.  
He felt scared, he pounded the question who that girl was. What was she doing out here and why she was so.. Weird.  
All those stories and warnings.. Were they lies? Were they shallow truths? Or has no one seen what he was seeing?  
If anything, how can one shine light and darkness _both_?  
But those weren't the questions he was truly asking.

Ever since that day.. He's been searching for an answer.  
One seemingly impossible to find.

How can darkness make her so beautiful?


End file.
